1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to gas-operated automatic and semi-automatic guns, especially rifles. More particularly, it concerns the improvement of such guns by addition of unique exterior surface configurations on their barrels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a need to reduce the weight of guns that soldiers carry and an equally critical need to increase the endurance of the guns. Soldiers, especially those within the Special Operations Command, now fire their weapons much more than in the past and have actually gotten the guns so hot that projectiles will come thru the side of the hot barrels during prolonged gun battles. A serious problem gun designers must face, therefore, is how to both reduce the weight of barrels in guns without damaging their strength and also have them dissipate the heat faster so they can withstand as many as 500 rounds of continuous fire without a projectile exiting the side of the barrel.
It is known to create depressions in the outside walls of gun barrels to improve their strength, weight and accuracy, e.g., see U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,780.
It is also known that heat transfer through tube walls can be improved by creating rows of concave depressions on the outsides of the tube walls, e.g., see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,577,555 and 5,992,512.
The present invention provides further advancements in weight reduction and heat release from barrels of gas-operated automatic and semi-automatic guns, especially rifles.